Unit 2: Trade, Mercantilism, Imperialism, and the Rise of Capitalism

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key economic systems, colonial motives, and historical concepts from Unit 2 lecture notes, covering the Silk Road, Mercantilism, Imperialism, and Capitalism.

Silk Road

The first known trading system, where trade in silk grew under the Han Dynasty in China during the first and second centuries before expanding into Europe.

Mercantilism

An economic system developed in Europe during the 1600s designed to make monarchs wealthy, under which governments and monarchs controlled trade for their own benefit.

Bullionism

The mercantilist belief that a nation's wealth was based directly on the amount of gold or silver it possessed.

Monopoly

The exclusive right granted by a monarch to a specific company to trade a particular good.

Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)

A historical company that served as an example of a mercantilist monopoly, holding the sole right to trade furs in North America.

Imperialism

The political, economic, or cultural domination of one country over another.

The 3 G's

The three primary motivations for monarchs to establish overseas colonies: God, Glory, and Gold.

God (Colonization Motive)

The colonial objective rooted in the belief that Europeans had a duty to convert encountered Indigenous peoples to Christianity—the only religion in Europe at the time—to save their souls.

Glory (Colonization Motive)

The imperial pursuit of colonies to enhance royal prestige and national power, sparking a competitive race among European nations to acquire global territories.

Gold (Colonization Motive)

The most important colonial motivation, wherein colonies supplied the mother country with raw resources, gold, and other precious metals to measure and increase national wealth.

Grand Exchange

The transfer sparked by colonial expansion in which Columbus brought seeds, fruits, and livestock that became staples in North America.

Ethnocentric

The belief that one's own culture is superior to all others.

Eurocentrism

The European belief of inherent superiority over all other groups, paired with the perceived obligation to "civilize the savage Indigenous peoples."

Capitalism

An economic system that emerged by the 18th century designed to enrich business people rather than monarchs, founded on free markets, private ownership, the profit motive, and the absence of government interference.

Adam Smith

A Scottish thinker associated with the rise of capitalism and the philosophy that governments should not interfere with private companies.